Changing life
by kenshin no tenshi
Summary: Yuri Hamata's life is changing drastically when she is send to Sunagakure. Will the charismatic Kazekage win her heart or will he destroy her secret dreams? Gaara x OC Rated M for later content.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own none of the characters besides Yuri and her family members.**

Yuri knew she was in trouble when she heard her mother's scream.  
„Hamata Yuri, come here!"  
With a demure expression on her face she entered their kitchen and met her mother's furious glare.  
„You've been fired from your job… again! It's the third job you lost in the last two month. What do you have to say for yourself?" Hamata Aiko asked her daughter.  
Yuri let out a sigh and told her mother: „Listen, I really liked the job at the hotel but my boss kept harassing me. Last night he grabbed my butt and I slapped him. That's why I was fired."  
Aiko look grim. „It can't go on like that. You're not a child anymore. You'll be 20 years old in 3 month. I love you but you know the ultimatum your father gave you. Now you will have to leave. He's already making preparations."  
The young woman swallowed hard. This couldn't be.  
Yes, her father had given her an ultimatum. He said she had to earn her living if she wanted to stay with them.  
And if she didn't keep this maid job at the hotel, he would send her away to his sister in Suna.  
Yuri liked her aunt Hana but she didn't want to leave her home.  
Aiko continued: „You will work at Hana's tea house. Be good, please."  
She pulled her daughter into an embrace and cried some silent tears.

Two days later Hayata Hana stood before the leader of her home village, Sunagakure.  
Kazekage Gaara was a good and kind leader. He was highly respected and admired, though he was only twenty years old.  
In the five years he'd been Kazekage he had done so much.  
Now Hana was there to ask his permission to have her niece transferred from Iwagakure to Suna.  
„Kazekage- sama, Yuri is my brother's daughter. She's 19 years old and she has had some bad luck. She is just a young woman trying to find her way."  
Gaara nodded: „It shouldn't be a problem."  
Hana thanked him and left.

Yuri was tired. It was late afternoon.  
She and her father were waiting at the premeditated meeting spot where Shinobis from Sunagakure would pick her up.  
Her aunt Hana had paid for this little service because she and her husband were too occupied at their tea house to meet her personally.  
Yuri knew she would be a big help to them and she actually looked forward to see Suna.  
She'd heard a lot about the village and the Kage whenever her aunt and uncle had visited Iwa.  
The team from Suna arrived soon. They were two man and one woman.  
Yuri hugged her father goodbye and left with them.  
The remaining journey had been quiet.

Now Yuri was in a little room in her aunt's house. This room would be hers for as long as she'd be living with aunt Hana and uncle Kenji.  
It was really nice as was the whole house but Yuri already thought about getting her own place.  
The young woman laid down on her new bed and sighed contentedly while she fell asleep.

The Kazekage listened to the report the pick up team gave him. As expected the mission had been easy.  
The team had included his older sister Temari. After the other two had left he asked her for her opinion of the Hamata woman.  
„She was quiet the whole way because she was clearly exhausted. But she seemed nice enough. I guess we'll find out more in the next days." the blonde woman shrugged. „Now let's get home, I'm hungry."

The next morning went by in a blur. Working at the tea house was fun and the customers were nice.  
Yuri waited tables and in between serving tea and answering good humored questions she listened to Hana's praise of the Kazekage.  
The young woman was already curious about him.  
Shortly after lunchtime Yuri was in the storage room when the doorbells jingled and she heard uncle Kenji exclaim.  
„Temari, welcome. I hope you are well?"  
„Thank you, Kenji. I'm really fine. I'd like some tea, please."  
„Of course, please be seated. Hana said you were leading the team that picked up our niece?"  
At that moment Yuri came back from the storage room.  
She bowed to the blonde woman she'd met the day before.  
„Welcome! My name is Yuri. What kind of tea would you like?"  
The woman introduced herself: „Hello Yuri, I'm Temari and I'd like jasmine tea. A pot with two cups, please."  
Yuri hurried away to fulfill the order when the doorbells sounded again and a red- headed young man walked in and over to Temari.  
The gourd strapped to his back clued Yuri in to whom this must be.  
Kenji rushed over to greet the man which gave his niece a chance to have a good look at the newcomer unobserved.  
His black- ringed eyes were a unique shade of turquoise and the tousled red mass of hair looked soft.  
He didn't have eyebrows but that didn't divert from his gorgeous face.  
God, but he was hot!  
The tea was ready, Yuri put the pot and two cups on a tray and carried it over to the table.  
„Uncle, the tea." she whispered, coming to a stop behind Kenji.  
The large man whipped around and waved her forward to introduce her.  
„Kazekage- sama, this is our niece Yuri. Yuri, this is our honorable Kazekage."  
The young woman sat the tray on the table and bowed low.  
„Kazekage- sama, I'm very pleased to meet you."  
Gaara watched her bow to him and scrutinized her closely.  
She was just a little bit shorter than himself, her body was hour- glass shaped. Her emerald green eyes held warmth and her shoulder length black hair was gleaming.  
„Yuri, welcome to Suna. I hope you will like our climate, it's quite different from Iwa's, I believe?"  
She blushed a little and answered in the affirmative.  
Then more customers came in and she excused herself to serve them.  
Gaara watched her and he liked that she served all customers with the same courtesy she had shown him.

During the half hour the Kazekage and his sister stayed at their table, Yuri felt the siblings observing her. Every now and then customers would approach them and respectful talk to the young leader of the village.  
The waitress could see why the villagers liked the red- head.  
He listened patiently to them and answered calmly their questions. None of them left the table without looking happy and content.  
Yuri became even more curious about Gaara but she kept a professional distance.

Her curiosity reached a peek the next morning. While she was still at breakfast with her relatives a messenger came and she was summoned to the Kazekagetower.  
Her aunt beamed at her when she left the house with the young female messenger.  
Nervously she debated with herself to ask if the Shinobi who accompanied her knew the reason for the summon but she decided against it.  
Whatever the reason she would find out soon.

Gaara sat behind his desk reading over some scrolls when a knock sounded on the door.  
„Come in" he called out and the door opened to reveal Yuri and the Shinobi who had been sent to fetch her.  
„Thank you, Matsuri. That will be all." he adressed the Shinobi and she left.  
The Kazekage stood and walked to stand in front of the desk.  
„Good morning, Yuri- san. Thank you for coming directly. I have some questions, if you don't mind?"  
„Of course, Kazekage- sama." she said with a bow. „Please ask anything you want or need to know."  
He gestured for her to sit on the couch that stood against one of the walls and she obeyed readily.  
„What your aunt didn't mention when she came to speak with me was if you've ever had tested your chakra levels."She swallowed hard before answering. „Yes, I was tested at the age of five. According to the medics who did the tests I had rather high chakra levels. But somehow I am not able to tap into these resources and we were never able to find out why."  
„Would you have wanted to become a ninja if it would have been possible?" the read- head asked.  
„Very much so." she answered truthfully. Yuri chuckled when she continued. „To tell the truth, I'd always dreamed of becoming a medic nin. But it wasn't to be."  
Gaara nodded and was lost in thoughts for a few moments while the woman in front of him waited patiently.  
Then he looked at her intensely and said: „I'm sure you heard about the medic skills of Konoha's Hokage, Tsunade?"  
After getting her nod he continued. „Years ago she trained a young woman, named Haruno Sakura and she turned out to be a prodigy. Sakura will visit Suna next week for a month long stay to work with our medics. Maybe she could examine you and find out about your inability to use your chakra, maybe even find a solution. If anyone can, it's her. What do you think?"  
Yuri stared so hard at him she was sure her eyes would pop out of her head.  
She didn't know what to say, opened and closed her mouth several times to answer but was to stunned by this offer.  
Of course it was more probable that even the Konoha medic couldn't help her but this chance was so tempting.  
„Thank you, Kazekage- sama. You are very kind. I don't want to sound ungrateful but could I think about it a few days? Right now I'm too overwhelmed to decide."  
„Sure, Yuri- san. Take your time." he answered kindly.

After the young woman had left he sat back behind his desk and thought about what he'd just done.  
Gaara hoped desperately that he hadn't raised Yuri's hopes to only have them crushed later if Sakura couldn't find a cure.

**A/N: This is my first try at a Fanfiction written in English, my native language is German. I hope I found all typos, spelling and grammar errors. If not, please feel free to point them out. Critic is welcome, without knowing what I do wrong I can't get any better. ;)**


	2. Chapter 2

Yuri couldn't sleep though it had been a busy day at aunt Hana's tea house. Her body was tired but her mind still raced.  
The young woman hadn't decided if she would see the highly respected healer from Konohagakure about her ‚condition'.  
Sakura's arrival was expected around tomorrow afternoon.  
With a deep sigh Yuri got out of bed and changed her pajamas for a comfy pants and sweater combination.  
It would be cold outside.

Once outside the house, Yuri walked at a quick pace. She was headed to the tea house.  
Just two days ago she'd found out that the building had a roof terrace instead of a normal roof.  
The young waitress liked to use it for alone time. Especially in the early morning hours it was very comforting and watching the sun rise from up there was magical.  
She let herself in with the keys uncle Kenji had given her on her second day and locked the door behind herself.  
As soon as she arrived on the roof she took a deep breath and felt the tension leave her body.

Gaara stood on the roof of the Kazekagetower and watched the silent village. He always enjoyed the peace of the night and often he would stay up there for hours after work.  
Like he sometimes did - to make sure all was well - he let his third eye roam over the village's roofs tonight.  
The red head registered movement on top of one building. He let the eye move closer and recognized the building as the tea house. Sure enough it was Yuri Hamata he saw there.  
His guess was that she used the solitude of the roof terrace to think about his offer from earlier this week.  
Since Gaara had told her about Sakura's visit and the possibility that presented itself, he hadn't seen hide or hair from the black- haired woman.  
Now he decided to pay her a visit.

Yuri looked up from her silent musings to see a platform of sand moving towards her.  
A second later Gaara stood before her.  
„Good evening, Yuri. How have you been? I expected to hear from you days ago."  
She bowed low. „Good evening, sir. I'm fine, thank you. Please accept my apology. I didn't want to bother you because I still don't know…" she drifted off.  
Gaara gave her a small smile and nodded. „No apology needed. My words were a rather big surprise, I think. And please don't be so formal with me. It's not Kazekage or sir, but Gaara."  
Anticipating her protest he continued: „At least while we're alone."  
Yuri nodded and stayed quiet.  
After a few minutes the young man asked: „Do you want to talk about it?"  
She nodded again and said: „I told my relatives about your offer and they were overjoyed. But I am not so sure… Of course it would be wonderful to get access to my chakra… but what if I raise my hopes too high… there is more than one possible outcome, right?"  
He answered: „Yes. Sakura could find out what the problem is and find a cure. She could find out the problem but no possible cure. And she could find out nothing." he paused shortly before shaking his head and adding: „I'm sorry, Yuri. I shouldn't have mentioned it at all. It's just… I want Suna to thrive and all the villagers to be happy. That includes you. I just wanted to help but it seems like I made it worse."  
Yuri hastened to assure him, that it wasn't his fault and there was no need to be sorry.  
Gaara saw tears in her eyes and though he wasn't comfortable with touch - especially not from strangers - he opened his arms to her.  
With a sob she threw herself at him and he held her tight.

When the sun started to rise Yuri and Gaara sat on the roof watching.  
It had taken half an hour for the young woman to stop crying and calming down.  
She was still a little embarrassed that she fell apart on him.  
He, on the other hand, had been surprised.  
Though there had been the expected discomfort holding a stranger in his arms, he'd also felt a contentedness.  
„It's marvelous, isn't it?" Yuri broke through his thoughts.  
He looked at her, recognizing a deep joy in her countenance while she stared at the sky.  
Gaara felt oddly happy at her joy.

The next day an hour before closing time, Temari came in with one woman and two men.  
They sat down at Temari's usual table and Yuri moved over to welcome them and take their order.  
That's how she was introduced to the medic nin from Konoha.  
Sakura was a friendly woman of her own age with pink hair. She'd arrived with two fellow Konoha nin, Uzumaki Naruto and Hatake Kakashi.  
Yuri tried not to stare at Kakashi. Even in her regular boring life back in Iwa she had heard of the famous copy ninja.  
She also knew about Naruto being a jinchuriki and his awesome strength but it was impossible to be intimidated by someone so cheerful and nice.  
Temari invited Yuri to sit with them to talk and after checking in with Kenji she just did that.  
They sat for an hour chatting cheerfully before the visitors left to get rest.

Gaara was still in his office though it was in the middle of the night. He was restless.  
Hours earlier he had welcomed his friends from Konoha and as always he was really happy to see them.  
The red- head respected all three of them but with Naruto he had a special connection and he could relax in his presence.  
Naruto had save him from the hatred he had felt as a young boy and then he had saved his life or rather brought him back from death.  
Gaara would always be grateful to the blonde man.  
But what made him restless tonight was Yuri. He had asked his sister to introduce her to Sakura and her teammates so she could meet them without the pressure of being a patient.  
The young Kazekage hadn't dared to ask anyone of them how the meeting went. He didn't want to intrude Yuri's privacy.  
Unable to stay inside any longer, he stepped out on the roof and from there he let his sand carry him home.

Yuri got up early this morning. The overall pleasant encounter with Sakura had helped her find the answer.  
She would let the medic Konoichi examine her and she would only think of it as a final confirmation, a way to set her Kazekage's mind at ease.  
Uh, _her_ Kazekage?  
So subconsciously she already saw herself as a Suna citizen not as the stranger from Iwa.  
Yuri smiled, she liked that very much.

After talking to Sakura and making an appointment for the evening, the black- haired young woman went to work at the tea house.  
It was a busy day and during the noon lull Yuri went up to the roof.  
She had gotten her uncles permission to set up a few chairs, a table and a sunshade up there.  
The terrace looked really cozy now and thanks to the sunshade the blazing sun was bearable.  
Yuri actually liked the dry heat during day and the chilly nights of her new home.  
She sat there smiling to herself when an unexpected visitor arrived.

Gaara had been debating with himself to ask Sakura if the latest addition to the village had talked to her about an examination.  
But he still thought this would violate Yuri's privacy and he couldn't do that.  
So he went straight to the tea house to speak to her personally.

Hana told him he would find her niece on the roof and showed him the way.  
Up there he found Yuri sitting at the table and she smiled.  
He cleared his throat and she looked up at him.  
Though it seemed impossible her smile got even wider when their eyes met.  
This joyous expression made something inside Gaara tighten.  
„How are you?" he asked politely.  
Yuri answered: „I'm fine thank you, Kaze- uhm Gaara. Has your day been pleasant so far?"  
The young Kazekage gave her a small smile and nodded.  
Somehow something had lodged inside his throat and he felt unable to speak.  
Beside his siblings nobody ever asked him about his day and she seemed to be sincerely interested.  
The young woman offered him a seat and a drink of cold water.  
He gladly accepted both and she told him about meeting the Konoha ninjas the day before.  
„Sakura has this smile that makes people feel comfortable with her and Kakashi seems to be very intelligent though a little too quiet. Naruto on the other hand is so lively and exuberant… I think the three of them make a good team. They balance each other." Yuri grinned.  
Gaara nodded.  
They talked some more about her new friends before Yuri told him about her appointment in the evening.  
The red- head asked her if she would allow him to sit in.  
Yuri gave her consent.  
„I know I am still ‚the new girl' and it's your responsibility to look out for your village. I think it's a good way to show you I'm sincere. I like Suna, it's citizens and all. So it'll be a great honor to have the Kazekage sit in on my appointment."  
She bowed to him.  
He didn't like that. If she wanted to think his question had been asked out of concern for his people, then he would let her think that.  
Gaara knew that's not why he asked. He wanted to be there for her support. At least to himself he could acknowledge that he had a quite different feeling for her than for his other villagers and that he wanted to explore this feelings some more.

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